Searching For
by SilverMidnight52
Summary: Saying Barney has a lot of sex is an understatement. It's not all that weird for woman to come and accusing him of being their child's Father. Usually it's not him. Usually. Daddy!Barney. Might change Rating as I go. Warnings added per chapter.
1. Chapter 1

Another Daddy!Barney story because I just love them so much! It's really going to focus around him and his daughters relationship, but I haven't really figured everything out.

**One question for readers though. Should I have Ted and Barney start dating or just make this about Barney and his daughter?**

I own nothing. Please review!

* * *

"Mr. Stinson," my secretary's voice rang through the system, "You have a visitor."

"Send them in," I replied back putting the files I was working on away.

As I was putting the last file into my desk the door opened and a beautiful woman walked in. Instantly a smile came to my face and I felt myself sit straighter, but at the same time I was hit with a sense that I knew her.

Her black hair was pulled into a loose bun with curly strands falling around her face. Her skin was dark showing that she was of Spanish decent. Her eyes were a dark green.

She was a little on the skinny side, almost like she was sick. Still, she looked fashionable. A nice red sweater, dark wash jeans, and brown leather boots. It was almost enough to not notice how she was drowning in them.

All together she was an attractive woman so it wasn't all that hard to see that I had slept with her. It just hadn't been recently. Not even I would go after someone that looked this sick.

That meant she was from at least a few months back. I had sex with a lot of woman and at times they blurred together, but I did remember all of them. She was one of them, that I was sure of. I just couldn't remember which one.

I stared at the woman for a moment longer before slowly standing up. It was always a little weird when one of my old conquests talked to me, but normally they didn't look me out like this.

Then again they normally didn't even get to know what my name was. It really wasn't all that important some of the time. I don't know exactly how she was able to find me.

That was always important to me. I didn't always have sex with the most sane women. I had to keep myself protected from them in very creative ways sometimes. I was kind of a master at that.

Which I was actually proud of. I did like the way I lived. As long as I wasn't constantly reminded of everything that I could have if I didn't have so many issues that I didn't even want to think about myself.

It's an odd life that I lived sometimes, but it was my life and everything that happened in it was my fault. No matter how much it killed me I wouldn't blame someone else for everything that happened to me.

Right now that didn't matter though. There was a woman that I slept with in front of me and I needed to focus on her and figure out just how worried I was going to have to be about the situation.

"Barney?" the woman asked, "You probably don't remember me, but my name is Jamie Rowlandson."

"I remember you," I blinked getting a full image of the woman panting underneath me as we had sex, "It's been three years."

"Yes, it has. And I know…I know this is going to sound weird and I have no real reason to ask this of you, but I need to know. I have to know."

"Know what? What are you asking for?"

"A DNA sample."

I froze when those words fell from her lips. This wasn't the first time that someone had asked for my DNA and I honestly doubted that it was going to be the last time. I always lucked out on not being the father.

Something about all of this was making me stomach turn though. For some reason I knew that my luck had run out. I had to make sure, but I knew that this was it. I had finally knocked a chick up.

That was when it hit me. Whomever had knocked this chick up had done it three years ago. She wouldn't be looking for the Father now unless something major had happened.

If I was a betting man, and I was, I'd say it had something to do with how sick she looked. That was why she was doing all of this and that made all of this all that much worse for us both.

Jamie didn't have very long left. She wasn't here looking for money or someone to blame. No, she just wanted to find the Father of her child and see if they'd have a good home there before it was too late.

That was a first for me. Normally the woman that asked for DNA were just angry at whomever got them pregnant. They were out for blood. Not one of my favorite experiences.

Though looking at the sadness and defeat in Jamie's eyes I would have taken all of that over this. I never did like dealing with negative emotions. Not my own and certainly not someone else's.

If I did this though and her kid turned out to be my kid then I was going to have a responsibility to them. I couldn't walk away and leave the child not only Fatherless, but parentless.

I hadn't thought about having kids in years, not since I started wearing a suit. At least I never allowed myself to think about kids for very long. I just couldn't bring myself to do that. It would hurt too much.

That was how I found myself opening my mouth and giving a sample of DNA to the woman. She smiled sadly at me before thanking me and leaving me alone in my office.

I sighed and went back to my work, but all I could think about was Jamie and her child. Possibly my child. I could have a child out there. A three year old child that I had no idea about.

Jamie hadn't told me anything about the child, but for some reason I couldn't stop thinking about them. For everything that I had done to them I found myself hoping for a little girl.

This was all just too much I needed to slow down and think. I finished my paperwork and went to the bar for drinks. I spent time with my friends and made sure not to think too much about the visit.

No one bothered to ask me what was going on. So what if I was drinking a little more or talking a little less? And if I hadn't taken any woman back home with me? No one needed to know.

All of that worked. For awhile. Then Jamie was back at my office with an envelope in one hand and tears in her eyes. That was when I knew what she was going to say.

"You're her Father," Jamie whispered staring at me.


	2. Chapter 2

Another Daddy!Barney story because I just love them so much! It's really going to focus around him and his daughters relationship, but I haven't really figured everything out.

**One question for readers though. Should I have Ted and Barney start dating or just make this about Barney and his daughter?**

**I have one for Barney and Ted getting together later and one for just Barney and his daughter...**

I own nothing. Please review!

* * *

"Hey Barney," Jamie smiled slightly opening the door to her apartment, "I didn't think you'd show up."

"Almost didn't," I responded honestly.

It had been two days since Jamie told me that her daughter was my daughter. Two days since my whole life changed and I had no idea what I was doing anymore. I was far out of my comfort zone.

After Jamie had told me I had a daughter nothing else was said. Neither of us had any idea what to say to the other. It was five minutes of an awkward before she gave me her address and said that she'd see me on Saturday.

All day Friday I ended up staring at that address and wondering if I should go. Wondering how stupid I could be. Wondering if I was going to mess up this kid as much as I was messed up.

But all those thoughts were pushed to the back of my mind as I thought about everything I wanted when I was younger. I thought about how amazing it would be to have a child.

It was something I had wanted so much before everything changed. I gave up so many dreams and for so long I never wanted to even think about them. Now this was being thrown in my face.

There were a lot of things wrong with the idea of me being a Father to this girl. The main one being just how completely and utterly messed up I was. I knew that. Everyone knew that.

The idea of me taking care of another being was laughable. Especially one that was only three years old. I could barely take care of myself most of the time and I was an adult. Mostly.

Now here I was standing outside the apartment my daughter had been living with her whole life. I was actually surprised to know that it wasn't all that far away from my apartment. Only six blocks.

I couldn't believe it. I had walked or driven past this building a few times a week. How was it possible that I had been so close to my daughter and not even known she was alive? Was it possible that I had seen her before?

That was an odd thought. It was possible that I had at least seen my daughter before today. Walked past her and never even had known who she was. It was a horrible thought.

I found myself shaking the thoughts away a second later. Right now I needed to focus on the fact that I was going to met my daughter today. She was right behind her Mother if Jamie turning around and smiled periodically was anything to go by.

I wonder how was I supposed to feel right now? Was they supposed to be some happiness and longing mixed in my feelings? Because I couldn't feel anything besides fear.

I wasn't good enough to be anyone's Father. There were some people out there that thought I wasn't good enough to be a human being. Not that I could always fight them on that point.

"She doesn't know who you are yet," Jamie interrupted my thoughts, "I didn't…In case you couldn't…I mean…"

"I get it," I spoke softly, "Umm…You haven't said. What's her name?"

"Zoë. Her name is Zoë."

Smiling slightly at the name I took a deep breath and followed Jamie into her apartment. I looked around the living room/kitchen and let my smile grow slightly at what I saw. It was a nice place. A little small, but nice.

There wasn't much in either of the room just the normal things though there was some food cooking away on the stove. Since it was only seven in the morning it was probably breakfast.

Everything was pretty normal, but there were two things that really caught my eyes. The first one was the instrument case that was resting on the couch and the second was the multi-colored toy box in the corner.

From here the case looked like it was probably a violin. I hadn't known that Jamie played an instrument. I hadn't actually known anything about her before we had sex. There wasn't a point.

It was just a little odd that both she and I played the same instrument. And if I was to guess, passed off of how old the case looked she had had the violin for quite a few years.

The toy box was almost sickening in the way it was painted. Reds, blues, greens, and yellows mixed together and I could tell the box had probably been hand painted by Zoë. Which was kind of cute.

It was then that I realized that Zoë wasn't actually in either of the rooms. Was it too early for her to be awake or something? No, that didn't make sense. Jamie wouldn't have invited me so early if Zoë wasn't going to be awake.

"She heard that a friend was coming to visit," Jamie answered like she was reading my mind, "She's been in her room going through her clothes trying to find the right outfit. I can't tell you how happy she's going to be when she sees you in a suit."

"She likes suits?" I asked following her into the kitchen.

"She likes looking nice and has a sever dislike for pants. I remember buying her a few pairs for her third birthday and she literally laid them on her bed and just glared at them. What three year old glares at pants?"

A soft chuckle fell from my lips at that. As a kid I hadn't really cared what I was wearing so I never had a worry about that. Now though I did like to look nice. I loved my suits.

Knowing that Zoë liked to look nice too actually made me wonder if she and I were similar in any other ways. It also made me wonder what she looked like. Something I hadn't thought about before.

The only things that I had really truly wondered about was if she was going to like me and how badly I was going to mess her up if I did end up taking care of her. Nothing else had really mattered to me after that.

Before I could voice my question though Jamie smiled and said she was going to help Zoë finish getting ready. My heart started to hammer in my chest when I heard those words.

This was it. I was going to met my daughter. She didn't know who I was yet, but that wasn't the point. I was going to met my daughter and for some reason all the fear I had been feeling was gone.

I ended up sitting at the kitchen table for almost a minute before I heard a door open in the hallway. Two pairs of feet walked through the apartment before I saw Jamie walk into the living room.

She gave me a small smile before turning back to the hallway and saying something so softly I couldn't hear it. It seemed like Zoë was standing behind the wall and nerves had hit her.

"Zoë," Jamie kneeled down her voice only slightly louder than before, "It's alright. Barney really wants to meet you."

There was a moment of silence before shuffling feet were heard once more. Heart pounding loudly I stood up and waited for my daughter to walk into my line of sight. Just a few more steps.

I couldn't stop the smile that came to my lips when the three year old walked out. She was beyond anything I had ever seen. She was honestly the most beautiful being in the world. Maybe this was why people had kids.

Zoë's hair was a dark black that mimicked her Mother's in color and though it was pulled into a low ponytail I could tell that it was as pin straight as mine had been as a kid.

Her paler than pale skin and icy blue eyes though. Those she got from me. She did look like me in a few ways. It was like the final nail in the coffin. There was no doubt. Zoë was my daughter.

She was wearing a white dress with midnight blue lace over it. Her feet were bare right now and her toe and finger nails were both painted a silver color. A charm bracelet was around her wrist matching the locket on her neck.

"I…I couldn't decide what shoes to wear," Zoë spoke quickly as her hands came up to smooth her dress.

"Do you have a pair of white sandals?" I questioned.

"Yes."

"You should wear them. They'd look beautiful with that dress."

Zoë stared at me for a second before a wide smile bloomed on her face as she raced back into her room. A chuckle came from my throat as she raced back in holding two different pairs.

Kneeling down to her height I took both pairs in my hands and looked over them. After spending a moment simply looking over the shoes I put one down while holding the other to her.

The child sat on the floor and pulled her shoes on the smile growing wider as she fixed the strap that was around her ankle. When she was done I helped her stand up along with me.

Jamie smiled and motioned towards the kitchen table. Zoë and I took a seat at the table while Jamie finished placing the food on down and helped make a plate for Zoë before sitting down herself.

As we began to eat I found myself listening as Zoë talked about the dream she had last night. Turns out that the violin case wasn't for Jamie, but it was for Zoë. Jamie bought it for her when she was at a yard sale.

While Zoë spoke I looked at Jamie and found myself smiling at her. This was what I had been missing out on. I honestly couldn't wait to spend more time with my daughter.


	3. Chapter 3

Another Daddy!Barney story because I just love them so much! It's really going to focus around him and his daughters relationship, but I haven't really figured everything out.

**Based off reviews this story is going to be a focus on Barney and his daughter. No slash being found. Not this time at least.**

I own nothing. Please review!

* * *

"I'm sorry, Barney," Jamie whispered shaking her head, "I just…I can't. Not today."

I watched as the younger woman curled into herself slightly on her bed. She was in so much pain today that she knew she wouldn't be able to move from her bed. Which meant that today's plan to go to the zoo was out of the question.

Zoë had been talking about it all day yesterday after I agreed that we'd go. Jamie had laughed and said that was her second favorite place to go behind the library. I couldn't say that I cared. Not with that smile directed at me.

This was the third day that I had been with Zoë and Jamie and I had to admit that it was nothing like I expected. My daughter was such an amazingly sweet person and I already loved her.

There were points when she was rather shy, which Jamie said wasn't like her at all, but she got over that rather quickly when she realized that we were actually similar in a lot of ways.

In the ways that we weren't similar Zoë was more than willing to learn how I did things and teach me how she did things. There was something amazing about learning something from my three year old.

And that's what she was to me now. She was my three year old. My daughter. All the doubts ran from my mind the moment she walked out of that hallway for the first time.

Now I knew that I couldn't walk away without feeling like my heart was breaking. And I didn't have to walk away. Because it wasn't going to be all that long before Jamie wasn't going to be here anymore.

She had looked sick since she came in my office, but for some reason my mind hadn't really connected that she was going to die soon. Now, seeing her like this, it was all I could think about.

Jamie was going to die. Zoë was going to lose her other and live with a Father that had no idea what he was doing. It was one thing to take care of someone with someone else.

This was something else. Zoë and Jamie had a routine. They knew what they liked and what they didn't like. They had a home and friends and so many more things that I had no idea about.

I wouldn't walk away though. Even if Jamie hadn't been sick. I loved Zoë with all of my heart and nothing was going to change that. She was my daughter and I wasn't leaving.

This was going to be a learning experience for not only me but Zoë as well. I didn't do the same thing as her Mother. I just hoped that I didn't mess up too badly with her.

Looking down at Jamie I placed a hand on hers and watched as she curled tighter. Under all the pain that she was feeling she looked so tired. She knew what was coming and she couldn't fight it anymore.

"Barney," Jamie whispered, "Please…Can you…I need…Please…Get me…Zoë?"

"I'll get her," I softly spoke back.

I pulled away from Jamie and made my way into Zoë's room. This wasn't the first time I had been in here, but it was the first time I had woken her up so I stopped for a second to simply look at her.

Her black hair had been pulled into a braid that Jamie had taught me how to do. Zoë had wanted her hair to have a wave to it and this was the easiest way for us to do that for her.

She was in a plain white sleeping dress. Zoë had explained that it was the only one that they had at the store that didn't have a face on it. She hated having things like that stare at her.

Her bedroom was rather simple. The walls a nice deep blue with silver clouds. The bedspread matched the walls in the blue color. Her carpet was black that matched her furniture.

I had thought it was a little weird for her to have such a dark colored room. Most kids liked bright colors, but, like everything else, she was more than happy to explain it to me.

She loved storms. Thunderstorms mostly, but all storms. The clouds, rain, lightning, thunder. She had said that she and Jamie had spent hours watching storms from her bedroom window because they could.

Smiling slightly at the story I kneeled next to the bed and brushed a piece of hair that had become loose from her face before leaning forward and placing a kiss to her forehead.

"Zoë," I spoke running a thumb over her cheek, "Wake up, Sweetheart."

It took a few moments for me to wake my daughter up, but soon I was greeted by a pair of sleepy blue eyes staring up at me. Smiling softly I kissed her forehead once more.

Zoë smiled back before moving forward and cuddling into my chest. Chuckling to myself I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her and her blanket into my arms so I could carry her.

It didn't take long for me to get to Jamie's room. When I got there the woman was sitting up and smiled at us, but she still looked like she was in just as much pain as she had before.

Placing Zoë down I helped get her situated on Jamie's bed before leaving the two to talk. Neither of them would want me in there for what was going to happen next. Though I really didn't want to leave Zoë.

Moving to the couch I sat down and let my mind wonder as I waited. In the past few days I knew that I was changing. Of course I still wanted to go out and find a girl, but at the same time I didn't want leave Zoë.

Zoë was the most important thing in my life now. Not random girls, Scotch, or my job. They all came in second place to my daughter. That was going to be something that I had to get used to.

Even with all that change it felt so easy until I started to think about it. Once that happened I realized that I was not ready for this. That I was going to mess it up and hurt Zoë.

Then that little girl smiled up at me. I loved her smile. So warm and open. She was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. It was hard to believe that I had helped make that little girl.

I felt a smile tug on my lips at that thought, but it quickly disappeared when I heard a door be thrown open and footsteps echoing in the hallway before a door being slammed shut.

My whole body cringed at the sound and before I could even really think about what I was doing I had stood up and went to Zoë's room. I raised my hand to knock on the door when I heard my name being called.

I stared at the door for a moment longer until a sigh fell from my lips and went into Jamie's bedroom. My body stopped at the doorway when I saw the silent tears running down her face.

"Barney," Jamie swallowed, "I'm…I can't…You need to…Tonight. You should take her today."

"Jamie," I shook my head.

"I can't take care of her anymore. I already called the hospital. They're sending someone to get me in a hour. I'm sorry I thought I had more time. I thought I'd be fine until the end of the week, but I just can't."

"Does she know?"

"Yes, she knows. Everything."

Looking at the ground I took her hand in mine. Like her I thought that I had more time. I had just started moving things around my apartment so Zoë would have a place to stay and wouldn't see some of the things I have.

I also hadn't even told my friends about Zoë yet. We were having dinner tomorrow night and I was going to explain everything. They just didn't know that we were having dinner.

Now they were going to learn I had a daughter by meeting her. I had no idea what they were going to think about this. If I didn't think I'd be a good parent how would they think.

Sighing once more I nodded my head to Jamie and agreed to take Zoë. She couldn't stay here and watch her Mother die. None of us wanted her to see something like that.

After a moment of standing there I turned around and started to make my way towards Zoë's room. Even through the closed door I could hear the heart wrenching sobs coming from her.

My heart tightened angrily in my chest as I knocked on the door. When I didn't get an answer I opened the door and walked in. It wasn't hard to find my daughter curled on her bed her whole body shaking.

Go to her bed I sat down and lifted her into my arms. A pair of small arms wrapped tightly around my neck while her face buried itself in my chest. I closed my eyes at the feeling trying to focus solely on her pain.

How was I supposed to help her now? She just learned that she had an hour left to spend with her Mother before she had to leave. One hour left with her Mother. It wasn't right for a three year old to deal with that.

Grabbing her sheet I wrapped it around her body while leaning backwards so I was lying on the bed. She curled up against me her body slowly stopping the shaking as her sobs calmed.

"Daddy?" Zoë asked through her tears lifting her head off my chest.


	4. Chapter 4

Another Daddy!Barney story because I just love them so much! It's really going to focus around him and his daughters relationship, but I haven't really figured everything out.

I own nothing. Please review!

* * *

"Hey Barney," Lily smiled walking into my apartment with Marshall, "What's up?"

"Need help moving some things and shopping," I shrugging placing some books in a box.

Lily and Marshall both gave me confused looks and refused to move. I couldn't focus on them though. My head was pounding too much for me to truly care about anything else that was going on.

I had brought Zoë home about half an hour ago and until ten minutes ago I was holding her as she cried. I never wanted to hear that noise again. It was something that broke my heart.

How could someone so small make such a sad noise? No, that wasn't the question that I wanted answered. I wanted to know how I was supposed to help her get through this when I had no idea how I even felt.

Even in the little time that I had known her I found myself loving Zoë. She was my daughter and that was all I needed to know. But I still found myself wanting to turn around and just leave.

I wasn't ready to have a kid. I wasn't strong enough to have someone else put their life in my hands. That's what this felt like. I was completely responsible for another person. And I was doing it alone.

I had always had respect for my Mother. She had to raise James and I alone and she did an amazing job. Yeah, we had a couple of issues, but what people didn't? That wasn't on her.

I knew that it took work and a lot of it to raise one child let alone two when you had no one to help. How she did it is beyond me. Well, no, that's a lie. I know how and why she raised us.

She did it because she loved James and I. She wanted what was best for us. But what if… Was it possible that maybe what was best for Zoë was for me to put her up for adoption?

I wouldn't make a good Father. I knew that. Everyone knew that. I was being an idiot for even thinking that I could do this alone. I wasn't as strong as my Mother or as Jamie. I couldn't raise a child.

Still, I found myself packing up my apartment trying to make it a home for a child that would be better off far away from me. It would be better for everyone if Jamie had never found me.

Watching one parent die and having the other, that you've known for only a few days, wasn't something that any three year old should go through. No, it wasn't something anyone should go through.

It was for the best though. Wasn't it? Zoë would be so much happier if she was in a good home. I had to think of what was best for my daughter. I had to do the selfless for once in my life.

I just didn't want to do that. I wanted to be the selfish prick that everyone already knew me as. It wouldn't be all that hard for me to do. I wanted to keep my daughter with me.

I wanted to take care of her. To hold her when she was sad. To teach her everything that I knew. To watch her grow into a wonderful woman. To see the love in her eyes whenever she looked at me.

I wanted to be her Dad. I could…No, I couldn't do that. I couldn't hurt my daughter by having her stay with me. I had to find her a good home. A place where she'd always feel loved.

"Barney," a soft voice spoke as a hand brushed the tears from my cheek.

Blinking a few times I saw Lily standing in front of me with this look of confusion and sadness. I hadn't even noticed that I had started to cry. When was the last time I did that?

For a second let myself soak in the comfort that the redhead was trying to give me, but I couldn't do that for long. I didn't deserve the comfort. Anyway, right now wasn't about me. It was about Zoë.

Taking a deep breath I turned around so I couldn't see Marshall or Lily and tried to get my heard on straight. I don't want to know what I'd do if I didn't get my emotions under control.

It seemed like they didn't like that though because before I could take another breath I found myself spun around and pulled into a hug by Marshall. I stood there frozen for a moment before I found myself hugging back.

Behind me I could feel Lily's small hand rubbing up and down my back as Marshall held me tight. I never thought I'd find so much comfort in other people, but I had to admit, to myself only, that it helped.

"Want to tell us what's going on?" Lily spoke soothingly, "Where you've been for the past few days?"

"Zoë," I muttered pulling away from Marshall slightly.

"A girl? Barney, a girl doesn't affect you like this."

"No, Lil. Zoë isn't some girl that I met in a bar or a club. Zoë is…She's my daughter."

Lily's hand froze for a second. I thought that she was going to pull away from me fully. That she was going to tell me how stupid and irresponsible I was. Then I found myself being forced to look in her eyes.

I knew that she was trying to tell if I was lying or not. She must have gotten her answer because I was being pulled into her arms for another hug. This was the most hugs I'd gotten in one day.

Pulling away from a moment later I motioned for them to follow me and started back to my room. I didn't have anything for Zoë set up yet so after she cried herself back to sleep I had put her in my bed.

I watched from the doorway as the couple moved quietly so they could see her. Both had sad smiles on their faces when they turned back to me and without looking I knew that Zoë still looked as sad as she did when she was awake.

After a few moments of them simply looking at her they left for the living room, but I found myself still standing there. I wanted to remember all the little things like this before I gave her away.

Taking a deep breath I turned around and went into the kitchen starting to open different drawers. It took a moment but I found the phone book. Another deep breath and I was looking for the number I needed.

"Calling some movers to help?" Marshall questioned placing a stack of books in a box.

"No," I shook my head, "I'm calling an adoption agency."

"Okay…Wait…An adoption agency? Why?"

"Come on, you're not stupid, Marshall. Me raising my daughter would be the biggest mistake of my life. We all know I'd mess her up before she even started. I know what girls are like when they have 'Daddy Issues'. I'm not going to let my daughter become one of them."

"And leaving her is your genius plan?

"Do you have anything better?"

"Yes, you raise her. You moved your porn collection, Barney. You already love her."

"Of course I love her. That isn't enough."

"You love her and you have the means to take care of her. How is that not enough?"

Turning away from them I started to pull my cell phone out of my pocket only to have a hand pull it away from me. My jaw clenched tightly as I turned to the taller man and saw him glaring at me.

How was he not seeing how badly this was going to end? He knew me. He knew that I would end up hurting Zoë if I raised her. No matter how much it hurt I had to do this for her.

"Give me the phone, Marshall," I said calmly.

"No," Marshall glared, "Not until you tell me what is going on in that head of yours."

"I told you. I'll mess her up."

"She's not food, Barney. You don't mess up and then throw everything away. Parents always screw up their kids in some way it's just how it is. You mess up, you fix it. That's how it works."

"It's not right for me to do that."

"And it's right for you to just leave?"

"I'm doing this because I love her."

Marshall opened his mouth to say something, but a hand placed on his chest stopped him. I watched Lily take the phone from Marshall's hand and make her way over until she was standing in front of me.

"Barney, please don't lie to yourself. You're doing this because you're scared," Lily sighed, "And I get that. It's terrifying to have to take care of another being. If you want to put her up for adoption we won't stop you. But don't do it just because you're scared."

"I can't do it alone," I whispered.

"You won't. Marshall and I will help and I'm sure Ted and Robin will as well. And what about your Mother and James? They'll be thrilled to know you have a daughter. It'll be fine."

"How do you know?"

"Because you're Barney. And you're awesome. Now, come on. We have a lot to pack up and I doubt Zoë will be asleep for much longer. Do you think she'll want pizza or Chinese more?"


	5. Chapter 5

Another Daddy!Barney story because I just love them so much! It's really going to focus around him and his daughters relationship, but I haven't really figured everything out.

Sorry it took so long. I couldn't come up with anything for Robin. Just so you know this is **NOT** going to be a Robin/Barney story. I just have them flirt a little since they dated and all.

I own nothing. Please review!

* * *

"Alright, Barney," Robin started climbing out of her taxi, "Why did you call me at one o'clock in the afternoon to go shopping?"

"Because Lily and Marshall had to go do something and I needed someone to help," I answered not taking my eyes off Zoë.

It had been a little over an hour since Marshall and Lily had told me that giving up my daughter would be a mistake. I wasn't completely convinced of that, but they were right in some ways. I loved Zoë too much to let her go.

For some reason though I knew that keeping her wasn't going to be the hardest thing I had to do. Not when I still had to tell the rest of my friends and family that I now had a three year old.

I had no idea how anyone was going to react. Lily and Marshall surprised me by being amazingly supportive. They'd even offered to take care of Zoë whenever I needed some time alone.

As odd as it sounded while the couple had seemed thrilled after I told them I'd raise my daughter. Both of them were smiling happily and talking about all the things they were going to do with Zoë.

Lily kept going on and on about how amazing it was going to be to have a niece to spoil. While I wasn't really sure about the spoiling part, I doubt I'd need help there, I loved hearing her say 'niece'.

Zoë was my daughter and for some reason I thought that meant I'd be doing everything alone. Now I had Uncle Marshall and Aunt Lily helping. Hopefully they'd stop me from messing her up too badly.

Those two almost instantly brought Zoë into our family. She had a family now. People to go to when I was acting more insane than normal. She also had a woman to talk to when she needed to.

Now to tell Robin what was going on. Not only tell her I had a daughter, but introduce them. What if Robin didn't want to be known as Zoë's Aunt like Lily had almost demanded?

Why hadn't I thought of that before I invited her to come shopping? I know I wasn't knowing for thinking, but this wasn't about me, was it? I had to do what was right for Zoë.

Well, I was thinking now. What if they didn't get along? Would it be between my daughter and my friends? I didn't want to make that choice. Though I did know what I'd do if I I was put in that position.

As much as I loved my friends I wasn't going to pick them over my daughter. No matter how much they all didn't get along with each other I knew that they'd understand if it ever came to that.

Sighing I looked over at Robin for a moment before my eyes went back to my daughter. I really wasn't going to enjoy telling Robin about her then introducing them, but I had to do it.

Right now Zoë was looking through a store window at some stuffed animals. I had already agreed to buy her one so she'd have something to hold onto while we shopped for her new room.

After we bought and set up her bed and dresser I was going to grab some things from Jamie's house. Everything else had already been taken care of. Just had to deal with Zoë's things.

At first we thought I'd just bring all of her things with us to my apartment, but she was almost too big for her bed and having the bed not match the dresser was just plain silly.

Or that's what Zoë says. She doesn't fight on much. She'll eat anything and follows the rules or did whatever you said, but having things match and being in a dress were things she'd go toe to toe with you on.

I couldn't help but be happy about that. Kids could cause a lot of trouble and knowing I wouldn't have to deal with at least some of it was making everything easier to handle.

How easy could things be though? Zoë was three years old and I barely knew anything about her. Then there was the fact that she just lost her mother. It wasn't going to be that easy at all.

"Barney, I have…" Robin started.

"I have a daughter," I interrupted.

"Ha-ha. Very funny. I really do have…"

"Her name is Zoë and she's standing right over there."

"And her Mother is over there. Are you paying them as much as the last family? Or did you just sleep with the Mother?"

"Robin, I…"

"You've already done this play, Barney."

Robin turned and stated to hail a taxi. Knowing that I had this one chance to convince the woman that I really had a daughter I grabbed her arm and spun her around to face me again.

"Her mother's dead or will be soon I don't know. She's in the hospital. If you don't believe me ask Lily and Marshall."

Robin followed my finger which was now pointing at Zoë. I watched as her eyes widened in shock. Okay, disbelief and shock. I had prepared myself for that reaction. I could handle this. No problem.

Alright, a look of…Wait, was that a look of betrayal? What did I do to deserve that? It's not like I did any of this on purpose. Anyway, she and I weren't even dating anymore. That look was just weird.

Unless, was this something that Robin had wanted when we were dating? Is this a reason why we had fallen apart as dramatically as we did? Because I had no idea what she had wanted?

Now I was really confused and I didn't like that. I had enough to deal with. A friend mad at me shouldn't be one of them. Not right now. Not when I really needed them on my side.

"So you have a five year old and just didn't tell me?" Robin hissed.

"She's three and what?" I questioned in confusion.

"I don't care. Where's she been hiding? Where was she when we were dating?"

"Again. What?"

"You're an ass for hiding your daughter from the girl you dated. And even more of an ass for getting people to lie about her for you."

"Wait, you think…Robin, I only met her a couple of days ago."

The anger seemed to was out of my friend when I said that. She looked between Zoë, who was now watching us, and myself. Then a look of horror filled her eyes as her mouth opened slightly.

"Her Mom's really dead?" Robin whispered.

"Or dying," I sighed, "I don't know. She didn't want Zoë to see that."

"Can I meet her?"

"Of course. You'll actually be the first. Lily and Marshall left before she woke up. Um…Are you okay with just being known as Robin for now? I don't want to overwhelm her."

"Yes, I like being called by my name."

"Are you sure? Robin is a little boring. Oh I know I can have her call you 'Sparkles'. What do you think?"

"Do it and you're a dead man, Stinson."

Smirking at Robin I found myself feeling like I was back to my normal self. The normal, awesome, Barney. At least for a few moments before I saw that Zoë was now walking up to us.

I couldn't believe how much this whole thing was changing me. Had I even looked at a woman since I found out about Zoë? No, I had been too focused on thinking about her.

Is this how things were going to be from now on? Could I handle that? It's not like a really had a choice, but I hadn't thought about what having a daughter was going to do to my sex life.

Huh. I couldn't be out all night long. I couldn't bring random women home with me. I couldn't disappear for days and come back with these amazing stories. How much was I going to miss that?

"She really is beautiful, Barney," Robin smiled slightly, "Though looking at her Dad."

Smiling at Robin's words I waited for something to hit me. For me to start freaking out like I had before, but this time nothing came. I was simply…Happy about being here with my daughter and my friend.

This is what my life could be like now. Though I really didn't want to give up the sex that came with my old life. I was going to have to figure this all out. Later though. Right now was about Zoë.

My life was going to be revolving around someone else. I hadn't really done that before. Okay, and the freak out started now. Right? I should be freaking out about that thought?

Still, I wasn't. I was looking forward to being a Dad. I was happy about the idea of taking care of someone. Of raising someone. Those were not the things that someone like me normally thought of.

"Knew you still wanted me," I smirked.

"Not in a million years," Robin rolled her eyes.

"Ready to meet her?"

"Yup. Wait. Actually, one question."

"What?"

"Does Ted know yet?"


	6. Chapter 6

Another Daddy!Barney story because I just love them so much! It's really going to focus around him and his daughters relationship, but I haven't really figured everything out.

I was asked if this could be a Robin/Ted story. I'm not really sure if I can do that, but I'm not ruling it out. No promises though.

I own nothing. Please review!

* * *

"Tell me you're joking, Barney," Ted shook his head, "Tell me you're not really this stupid."

My eyes closed at the onslaught of my friends words. Disappointed Ted. Well, if wasn't really a 'Barney screw up' if I didn't have to deal with a disappointed Ted. Is it sad that having him react like this made everything realer in my mind?

Having Marshall and Lily be supportive and flirting with Robin helped bring me into my mind again. Right now though having Ted's eyes staring into mind as if he was my Father and not my best friend really drove everything home.

There was a reason I called Ted my best friend. Yeah, because he needs to learn to let loose and have fun, but also because he is the only person that can ground me. That can make me actually think.

Honestly, some days I had no idea how I felt about that. I liked being childish and just having fun. At the same time I knew that I was an adult and I had to act like one. Outside of work.

I needed someone to mellow me out. Someone that made me think because even I had to admit not all of my plans were awesome. Case and point. Jumping into the Hudson Rive. Extremely stupid and dangerous.

Ted was the person I turned to when I wasn't completely sure I should be doing what I was doing. He'd pull me back. He was the only one that had ever been able to do that.

Part of me wondered if he knew that. If he knew how much I cared about our friendship. He understood a lot after the whole run over by a bus thing, but it was hard to see sometimes. Not that I was any better.

Ted was my best friend, my brother. I couldn't actually think of anything that would change that. Not after everything he and I had been through over the years. I hoped our friendship was strong.

That didn't mean I wasn't afraid to lose his friendship. That was actually one of the only true fears I held. I couldn't handle not being his friend again. Not without going insane.

Of course I'd hate to lose any of their friendship. I cared about all of them. Things were different for Ted and I though and I really had no idea why that was, but I wasn't going to fight it.

I hadn't really thought about any of this before. It was just a fact. The man was my best friend. I'd be lost without him. What more did I truly need to know about our friendship?

Still, I hated knowing I was the one that made him look like that. Well I hated making anyone look like that, but again it was Ted and that just made everything all that much worse.

Then there was the fact that he was giving me the look because I had just informed him of my daughter. This situation just kept getting better and better for me, didn't it?

Zoë was in her new bedroom decided where everything should be. At least that's what she said. This wasn't just an adjustment for me. It was one for her as well and hers was that much worse.

I was gaining someone. I was getting a daughter. She had lost and gained someone in the span of two days. And those people being her parents was just icing on the cake in my mind.

I couldn't really fault her if she needed some time by herself. Though I had double checked that nothing in the room could hurt her while I was talking to Ted. First day of being a parent I didn't want her hurt already or ever. Ever worked.

Right now wasn't the time though. Not for Ted to be having a freak out. If it was just him and I everything would be fine, but there was Zoë to think about. Hopefully he'd remember before he was too far into telling me off.

"How can you be this stupid, man?" Ted asked his hands on his hips, "Did you actually think…"

Looks like he was. Time to sit back and listen to how stupid I was. And I had nothing to say back. This was the stupidest thing that I had ever done and I wasn't going to walk away. I wouldn't do that.

I could stand here and let him talk though. That's what he needed right now. It's hwat he needed to try to figure out the whole situations. If letting him tell me off helped him I'd stand here all day.

It was surprisingly easy to talk to Marshall and Lily. Robin was a little harder, but once she knew everything it was find. For the most part this whole thing just seemed to fall into place for the four of us.

Then there's Ted. Now, staring at him pace my living room raging about this situation, I honestly wasn't afraid to tell my Mother or James. Not anymore. There was no way their reacting would be as bad as this.

"Can I…" a small voice started before fading away.

Turning to the hallway I saw Zoë standing there with her new stuffed animal, a pid named Sparkles, in her arms. Her blue eyes darted between Ted and myself as her arms tightened around Sparkles.

"Zoë," I smiled, "This is Ted. He's my best friend. Ted, this is my daughter Zoë."

I watched as Zoë shyly watched Ted. Her arms clasped around her pig. Her body gently turned so she was almost swaying. There was a shy Stinson. Not something I'd ever thought I'd see, but if I remember correctly her Mother had been quite shy.

Then I looked at Ted. He had this smile on his lips. Very sot and sweet. If that was anything to go by he liked my daughter. Which was confirmed when he kneeled in front of her.

My daughter took a step backwards before closing her eyes. When they opened again she shuffled slightly forward and gave Ted a half smile, her pig coming up to cover part of her face.

"Hello, Zoë," Ted spoke softly, "Who's this?"

"Sparkles," Zoë whispered.

"Sparkles. That's a nice name. I used to have a stuffed animal named Bruce. I miss him. He gave the best hugs."

I watched as Ted and Zoë interacted and saw why Ted wanted to have kids so badly. He was amazing with them. Now I couldn't wait to see him with his little boy and girl. He'll be an amazing Father.

Why couldn't this have happened to him? Ted wanted to be a Father. He was going to be an amazing one. I wasn't. it wasn't fair to him that this was happening to me. It wasn't fair to anyone.

"You hungry, Zoë?" I asked interrupting her conversation with Ted when I heard her stomach growl.

"Yeah," Zoë nodded her head quickly.

"How does some pot stickers sound? With some carrots?"

"No onion?"

"No onion."

"Ted stay?"

"You'll have to ask him."

As Zoë turned to ask Ted to stay for dinner I grabbed the food out. Hearing the two of them in the background I felt myself smile. Maybe I could see why he wanted kids as badly as he did.

"Maybe I was wrong," Ted said helping me bring the food to the table, "Reacted a little too quickly. I wasn't thinking."

In the back of my mind I knew that it took a lot for Ted to admit that he was wrong, but I couldn't bring myself to believe him. He was just voicing what was in my own mind.

"You always think," I shook my head with a slight smile, "And you were right. I'm stupid."

"She's already a great kid, Barney."

"And I'll be a horrible Father, Ted. We both know that. Don't pretend that's not what we're both thinking."

I expected the man to drop it after that, but instead he took the plate out of my hands and had me look at him. I really wasn't ready for another stare down from him. I didn't look away though.

To my surprise I saw no judgment in his eyes like before. He wasn't calling me stupid or being disappointed. He was just looking at me. Almost like he hadn't been seeing me before.

That was just a little weird. He had been my best friend for a number of years. How was it possible that he was seeing me for the first time? I hadn't changed all that much, had I?

No, the situation was a little weird, but I was still me. There was no doubt about that in my mind. I was just a me that had another living breathing little human being to take care of.

Alright, so I had changed quite a bit. I had a daughter for one day and I had changed. this was going to be a fun experience for not only myself, but my friends and family as well.

If I was changing this much who knows who I was going to become now. Who knows what little parts of me that I do very good at hiding will come to the surface now that I had a kid.

I did everything I could to hide parts of me from everyone. It would do no good for them to see me like that. Now I had a reason to show them. I had a reason for a lot of things and that was terrifying to think.

"Give yourself some credit, Bro," Ted smiled patting my back, "You'll be a great Dad. Now. Let's eat."


	7. Chapter 7

Another Daddy!Barney story because I just love them so much! It's really going to focus around him and his daughters relationship, but I haven't really figured everything out.

I was asked if this could be a Robin/Ted story. I'm not really sure if I can do that, but I'm not ruling it out. No promises though.

I own nothing. Please review!

* * *

"Barney," Ted spoke trying to hide his laughter, "You need to calm down. It's just your family."

"I'm not scared about James meeting her," I responded calmly.

"Scared of your Mom meeting her then?"

I glared at the other man as he helped me move the couch. Ted and Marshall were over helping me set everything up for a dinner that I was having to introduce Zoë to James and my Mother.

It had been my daughters idea to have the dinner. Well, not so much her suggestion as her pointing out that she loved having tea parties. I thought it would be a good way for her to meet my side of the family.

Mom, James, and his family already promised to be there and to be dressed up. I already had the whole thing planned out. I just have to set it up. It was going to be a true tea party.

It also helped my mind that they all knew why they were coming. I had told them about Zoë over the phone when I invited them over. Which was good because their reactions were less then…Alright it was horrible.

I had never heard that much…I don't even know how to describe how my Mother sounded, but I hadn't heard her like that before. Honestly I didn't know anyone could even sound like that.

Then there was James. He spent almost a full twenty minutes going on and on about how irresponsible I was. It was eerily similar to the speech that Ted had given me the day before.

Luckily after all was said and done they just had needed to do the same thing as Ted. They needed to vent. I couldn't fault them for that and now they were both excited to meet my daughter.

And Zoë was excited too. Well, for the most part. It had only been two days since she moved in with me and we both were still trying to adjust to the new person in our lives.

For the most part though she and I got along well. There were points when I had no idea what she was used to and she would get upset because of that, but it was a learning process.

One that I felt I completely sucked at. Lily had already explained that most parents felt like that in the beginning. I guess being friends with a teacher really did pay off sometimes.

I couldn't be happier that I had the friends I had right now. Without them I have no idea what I would have done. They've been so amazing to both myself and Zoë since this started.

Which is how I found myself in my living room moving furniture with Ted while Marshall did the dishes. Both had agreed that they'd help me set up the tea party and had been at this with me for over two hours already.

While the boys and I worked on making the apartment presentable for the party Lily and Robin had taken Zoë, and my credit card, shopping. Part of me wondered if that was a good idea, but I wanted this to be perfect.

I knew I was going a little overboard with this whole thing, but I couldn't help myself. This was the first time my family was meeting my daughter. If anything went wrong…

"Barney," Ted called loudly, "Barney!"

My head shot up as my grip slipped from the couch. I barely had enough time to pull my feet away before they were smashed. I guess I had been a little too caught up in my thoughts.

Ted and Marshall seemed to agree because instead of going back to getting ready both of them were watching me worriedly. People seemed to be doing that to me a lot recently.

It wasn't something that I really liked. I was a strong person and I did everything I could to make sure people saw me as that. For people to see me vulnerable, especially my friends, wasn't good.

How was I supposed to prove to them that I could do this alone? That I was actually going to be able to raise my daughter when they saw me as someone who needed to be looked after?

Alright, so I figured out that I wasn't going to be doing this alone at all. My friends were going to be helping out a lot and I was perfectly okay with that, there were just some conversations I really never wanted to have.

Still if they were focused on worrying about me then they'd not be worrying about Zoë and she was the one that needed it. She was the one that had just lost one parent and gained another.

"Dude," Ted sighed, "You really do need to call down."

"I need to get things done," I argued.

"They'll get done. Look, go lay down and just rest for a bit. You already told Marshall and I what you wanted done and we can do it on our own."

"Ted…"

"Just go relax."

"I'm…"

"Seriously, Barney. You need…"

"I can take care of Zoë myself, okay?!"

Ted froze mid-sentence when I yelled his mouth hanging up and his eyes staring at me. I had no idea why I had just yelled that, but now that it was said I realized that's exactly what I'd been thinking.

Everyone kept saying that I could do this. That I was strong enough, but right now felt like the first time I was actually trying to do something for my daughter and I was messing that up.

Ted saw that. It was why he wanted me to leave. Not because I needed rest, but because I was acting like an idiot and that was going to ruin though whole thing before it even started.

I just wanted everything to be perfect. I needed to show everyone that I was capable of being an adult. Of taking care of another living being. Of being able…Of being able to love another person.

That's what I felt. Zoë was my daughter and I loved her. I had loved her the first time I laid my eyes on her. I don't know how and I don't know why, but that was the truth.

It was actually one of the most truthful things I had said in awhile. I loved my daughter more than anything in the world and I had only known her for a few days. How was that possible?

Then there was the idea that maybe that wasn't enough. No matter what anyone said to me I was never going to be good enough for her. I was never going to deserve to have a child. Let alone someone as amazing as Zoë.

And she was an amazing little girl. Maybe it was because she was my daughter that I thought that. I'll admit that I'm a little biased about this, but I was surprisingly okay with that.

"Is that what you think?" Ted questioned softly, "That I think that you can't take care of Zoë?"

"Obviously," I responded with a small shrug.

"That is complete and utter bull, Barney. And you know it. You're an amazing Father."

"It's been two days."

"So? In those two days you've introduced her to your friends, tonight you're introducing her to your family. You bought her new furniture for her room that you cleaned out and are decorating just for her. You changed your entire apartment for her.

Bro, you put your Storm Trooper in the closet in your room because you were afraid it would scare her. And now you're throwing a tea party for her. A tea party! That's not a bad Father. That's a wonderful Father."

"She deserves more."

"And that fact that you think that proves it. So you know what you're going to do, Barney?"

"What?"

"You're going to take a few calming breaths. Marshall and I going to grab us a quick snack at the place down the street while you call Lily and make sure everything is going great. Then we're going to fix this place up and make it look amazing. Because that's what you both deserve."

Ted motioned to Marshall who was now smiling at us over the sink. The taller man walked past me clapping a hand over my shoulder as if to show me that he agreed with Ted.

Of course he agreed with Ted. The man was usually right. Well, not about relationships. There he was usually wrong, but he was right about this. As much as I didn't want him to be I knew that he was. I did need to calm down.

Bringing my phone out of my pocket I quickly dialed Lily's number. She greeted me quickly before handing the phone off to Zoë. I listened to her talk quickly about all the pretty dresses she was trying on.

I couldn't suppress the smile that took over my face as I asked her to send me pictures. She refused and said that it was a surprise, but that it was between dark red dress and a bright blue dress.

In my mind I was already making sure my outfit was going to compliment hers. It was her night tonight, but I wanted her to know that I was there for her. Even if it was just our clothing that showed it.

"Tell Daddy you have to go, Zo," Lily spoke in the background.

"Okay," Zoë responded, "Bye Daddy. See you soon."


	8. Chapter 8

Another Daddy!Barney story because I just love them so much! It's really going to focus around him and his daughters relationship, but I haven't really figured everything out.

I own nothing. Please review!

* * *

"Barney," Mom smiled pulling me into a hug, "Looking even more handsome then usual."

Chuckling softly I pulled away from my Mother and looked over her. True to her word she was wearing an elegant but simple white dress. I had to admit I don't think I had ever seen her dressed like this before.

Was that weird? I truthfully had no idea, but I found myself not caring either. Right now I was just going to be focused on making this a wonderful tea party for my entire family.

Ted, Marshall, and I had finished setting everything up about four hours ago. Then I had to go shopping. Because as much planning as I did I had forgotten two very important things. The tea and the tea pot.

I really should have remembered considering I kept saying 'tea', but I had been so preoccupied with everything else it truthfully just slipped my mind. Luckily, I still had enough time to get everything.

Finding a nice teapot set was fairly easy, but I had spent awhile staring at the different teas trying to figure out what one everyone would actually like. Which was a lot harder than it sounded.

In the end I settled on an apple flavored black tea mostly because I knew everyone that was coming liked apples. After all that I only had three hours to get myself ready for the party.

When I had gotten home after shopping I had gotten a txt from Robin saying that they had put Zoë down for a nap and that they'd message me before they got in the car to make sure I was ready.

Though all of that was important I found myself immensely glad that she decided to say that my daughter at gotten the blue dress. Not a lot of colors went really well with both red and blue.

Now I was ready, Zoë was about half an hour away, James and his family were a little more than five minutes away, and I had completely forgotten everything that I had spent so long planning.

How could I have had everything planned only to have my mind completely blank as soon as I saw my Mother? So, it wasn't really all that hard to do, she was my Mother, but it still wasn't right.

Taking a deep breath I looked around my apartment once more and let my mind run away from me. I needed to get back on task if I was actually going to be able to pull this off.

"Breathe, Barney," Mom cut through my thoughts.

"Trying to," I sighed, "I hadn't ever thought that this would happen. I had never… I don't know what to do."

"Well, first you're going to calm down. Then you're going to wait for your brother to come and then for your daughter. We'll have a nice dinner…"

"Tea party."

"…Tea party and we'll get to know each other. She's my granddaughter, Barney and James niece. We already love her."

"You don't know her."

"She's my granddaughter. Nothing else matters."

Smiling slightly I looked at my Mom I let her pull me into a hug. I had to admit though I visited my Mother a lot I always missed just having her pull me into a hug and comfort me.

"Tell me what you're thinking, Barney," Mom said making me look at her.

"I'm afraid that I won't know what to do," I muttered knowing that this was one of the few people I would ever admit that to.

"So was I and look how wonderfully you and James turned out. Being afraid is now going to be the one thing you'll feel every second of everyday. But there is one thing you'll feel that will make the feeling perfectly fine."

I opened my mouth to ask what that thing was when a knock came to the door. James, Tom, and Eli walked in a moment later letting me see that all three were wearing suits.

Smiling slightly I gave each of them a hug in greeting and watched in confusion as James placed a small, heavy present in my hands. What was…Why had they brought a present?

"Bro?" I asked holding the gift up.

"It's for you," James smiled, "Well, it's for Zoë, but it will hold more meaning for you. Open it before you put her to bed."

Nodding my head I went to put the present in my room when I got another txt from Robin. She and Zoë were outside and waiting for me to come down and bring my daughter upstairs.

With a quick explanation to my family I made my way downstairs. Robin was standing there with a smile on her face that grew when she saw me, but I couldn't see Zoë around.

"Wow, Barney," Robin whistled, "I know you wear a suit everyday, but damn. You look amazing."

Smirking I straightened my silver tie then my sleeves. If there was one thing I knew I could be confident in it was my looks. That didn't mean I wasn't happy to hear it whenever I had the chance.

It was different coming from Robin though. I loved her. At least I did at one point in time. Don't get me wrong I still care about he woman. I jut didn't want to be with her like that anymore.

The woman would always be special to me. She was one of two woman that I could say I had loved. One of two woman who I know had loved me back. I couldn't explain how much that meant to me.

Shaking my head to clear the thoughts I looked around once more hoping to see my daughter, but once again all I saw was Robin. She had said that she was going to bring Zoe, hadn't she?

"Mr. Barney Stinson," Robin said her voice taking on this official command, "May I present to you your daughter?"

Robin stepped to the side and revealed that Zoe had been behind her the entire time. A smile came to my lips as I saw one of the most beautiful sights I had ever seen in my life.

There stood my daughter in a beautiful royal blue dress. It was a little puffier than I had thought, but it was gorgeous. The perfect dress for the main star of a tea party to be wearing.

Her hair had been pulled into a loose bun with her now curly hair falling out to frame her face. Her icy blue eyes went perfectly with the dress. They just seemed to pop. It was absolutely amazing to see.

"You look beautiful, Zoe," I kneeled in front of her.

"Thank you," Zoe grinned happily, "You look handsome."

"Thank you. Come on, let's go meet everyone. Thanks for helping, Robin."

"No problem," Robin said climbing into a taxi, "See you later."

"Uh huh. Credit card first."

Once I got my card back I picked Zoe up ad carried her up to our apartment. Huh, I never thought I'd be thinking of _my _place as an _our _place, but it was something I could get used to.

As I climbed into the elevator I felt my daughters arms tighten around my neck. Turning my head slightly I saw the fear in her eyes. I moved her in my arms until I could look her in the eyes.

"They're going to love you," I whispered kissing her forehead just as the doors opened.

When I was outside the door I kissed her forehead once more before placing her on the ground. As soon as I was standing up Zoë's hand slipped in mine and held on tightly.

"Everyone," I said opening the front door, "This is my daughter Zoe. Zoe, this is your Grandmother Loretta, your Uncles James and Tom, and your cousin Eli."

"Hello," Zoe blushed before turning to hid her head in my leg.

How could something as simple as my daughter holding onto me like this make my heart soar? No, the better question was how did I keep having moments like this. Because I never wanted to lose this.

"Hi!" Eli exclaimed from Tom's arms.

Zoe pulled her head away from my leg and made her way to Tom and Eli. The older man put his son on the floor. They stared at each other for a second before my daughter poked Eli in the nose causing him to giggle.

The tension seemed to break after that. Everyone talked as I set the table with the tea, finger sandwiches, and cake. Out of the corner of my eye I watched the children play around though Zoe was careful not to get messy before tea was served.

"Tell us about yourself, Zoe," James smiled as we took our seats.

"Like what?" Zoe asked with a grin.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Silver."

"You're three, right? Any big plans for the future?" Tom asked jokingly.

"Violin and doctor."

"A doctor? How'd you come by that?"

Suddenly Zoe was quiet. I cocked my head to the side reaching my hand to place it on hers. Her eyes met mine and I saw the tears gathered in them. Fear flew through me when I realized I had no idea how to help.

Pushing that aside I squeezed her hand gently while watching her turn back to Tom who looked rather guilty for having up his niece thoughthere was really nothing anyone could do about that now.

"Mama," Zoe muttered squeezing my hand back.

The rest of the tea party went better after that. Everyone simply getting to know each other, but not saying anything about Zoë's mother. It wasn't the right time to start talking about that.

In the end the party started to come to a close when Eli and Zoe started to yawn. James and his family left first and while Mom and I put everything else away I had Zoe get ready for her both.

"Open your present from James," Mom reminded me.

Nodding my head I got the gift off my bed and brought it into the kitchen. I opened it quickly a smile coming to my face almost instantly. It was the same book Mom had always read us growing up.

"It's love, by the way," Mom smiled resting a hand on the side of my face and making me look at her, "The fear that you feel will always be accompanied by all the love that little girl will bring into your life."


	9. Chapter 9

Another Daddy!Barney story because I just love them so much! It's really going to focus around him and his daughters relationship, but I haven't really figured everything out.

Sorry if it takes a few days between chapters. I'm writing this as I go and sometimes I end up taking awhile to get everything perfect.

I own nothing. Please review!

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"Thanks for doing this, Ted," Barney said putting two bags on the floor, "I couldn't get out of this meaning."

"It's no problem," I smiled, "Hey Zoë."

The three year old was cuddling into Barney's chest, but when I said her name she looked over at me. A small yawn came from her lips before she buried her head in her Daddy's neck once more. It was three in the morning after all.

Barney had called me half an hour ago saying that his boss needed him to give a presentation at four o'clock. In the morning! What job does that? Barney's job apparently. Based off his voice and how quickly he was ready it happened quite a lot.

He had never had someone to take care of though. That meant he needed someone to take care of Zoë while he was at work. I was honestly glad that the man had chosen me. Even if it was really early.

The was when I noticed something I rarely saw. Barney didn't have a suit jacket on. No, that was wrapped around Zoë like a small blanket. It was so…Something I never though I'd describe Barney as…Adorable.

In all the years I had known Barney I had never thought of what the man would be like if he ever had children. Him with kids honestly seemed laughable and not just to me, but our whole group.

It was a ludicrous thought. Until you looked at the two of them together. Seeing him like this I wondered how I could have thought he'd be horrible at this. The man was a complete natural.

I closed the door behind him when he walked into my apartment. Barney had said that he only had enough time to drop his daughter off, but now he looked like he was tempted to call in sick and stay.

Zoë had only been in Barney's life for a little over a month and he had changed so much. Well, I think he had a lot of his spare time had been spent with his daughter. The two just getting to know each other.

Because of that no one had really gotten to spend a lot of time with Zoë. Though we did wonder how the man had enough vacation time to pull all of this off. Barney didn't tell us. Not that we expected him to.

Today was his first day back and he had already been called in early. It wasn't going exactly to plan for the guy, but all things considered I though he was doing fairly well. If he would put Zoë down and go to work.

"Bro," I spoke quietly.

"I know," Barney sighed, "Just…She's allergic to onions. She likes playing pretend. She'll never tell you if she doesn't feel well. If she mentions her Mother do. Don't push her. She likes…"

"Barney…"

"Yeah, I know. I'm being one of those…"

"You're being a Father. But if you don't leave you'll be in trouble at work. I got her and I'll call if I need anything. Go."

Barney let out another sigh but shifted Zoë into my arms a second later. Once she was secure he stepped back and cleared his throat. I never thought I'd see the day Barney Stinson didn't want someone to leave.

"It should have been you," Barney whispered not looking away form his daughter.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"You should be the one someone is calling Daddy."

"You're a good Dad, Barney."

"Maybe. But you deserve it."

Before I could say anything in return the new father kissed Zoë on the forehead and left. It wasn't often that this happened, but the blonde had left me speechless. And it had nothing to do with a harebrain scheme that he was cooking up.

I couldn't believe I was about to think this, but was Barney…Was it possible that the man that had just left wasn't as self-assured as I had always though he was? It just made no sense to me.

Barney was a man of a thousand plans. All more ridiculous than the last and doomed to failure. If they had been planned out by anyone, but Barney. The wildest, craziest things happened to the guy because of that confidence.

Don't get me wrong I knew he still had that in him, but not when it came to Zoë. For the first time in a long time Barney was a regular guy and I found that I couldn't enjoy it nearly as much as I wanted to.

I had always wanted to see Barney be a real person. To stumble and trip. Not to be mean or anything, but because I thought it would make the guy a little easier to deal with. A little more human.

Now seeing the Great and Awesome Barney Stinson like this just made me worry about him and Zoë. Worried that the man was going to change too much and what should be amazing would end horribly.

Barney was a good guy, even with all of his flaws. Yeah, I knew there was a lot, but he did have good intentions when it came to the people he cared about. And there was no doubt that he loved Zoë.

"You're a lucky kid," I whispered to the now sleeping child, "I just hate how you had to meet him."

It was horrible to think it, but if Zoë's mother had never gotten sick than Barney never would have met his daughter. And with how he was acting I truly hated myself for being happy that they two now knew each other.

Sighing I shook my head and put Zoë in my bed before going back into the living room. The couch wasn't all that uncomfortable it would be fine to sleep on for the rest of the morning. Which is exactly what I did.

The sun was up by the time I was woken up, but I couldn't focus on that with a pair of blue eyes staring at me. Blinking a few times I sat up trying to figure out what was going on when I remembered Zoë was here.

"Hey, Kiddo," I spoke sleepily, "What's…"

"Potty," Zoë said quickly bouncing where she stood.

Pointing towards the bathroom door I watched the three year old run chuckling softly to myself. She was such a beautiful child. That was going to be horrible for Barney when boys started to notice her.

I could just see the boys lining up to date her and her Father scaring each and everyone away. I mean, after everything the blonde had done to the female of the species he'd never let anyone near his daughter.

As funny as I knew that was going to be I also knew that it was going to be hell for Barney and Zoë. Who really wanted an overprotective Dad stopping their love life before it even began?

I didn't think I'd ever get used to thinking of Barney as a Father, but I truly couldn't wait until I got to spend a day just watching him and his daughter interact. If it was anything like this morning I'll be proud.

Was it weird that I felt proud seeing one of my best friends acting mature? It wasn't like I was his Father or anything I had just never seen him like this before. It was really something else to see.

Shaking my head of the thoughts I picked up my cell phone and saw that it was almost seven. Is this when Zoë normally woke up? It didn't really matter, I wasn't going to be sleeping anymore today.

"Hey Zoë," I said with a stretch, "You awake now?"

"Yup," Zoë responded her black hair on the unruly side.

"Alright. How does breakfast sound? I make a mean bowl of cereal."

"With cocoa milk?"

"Your Dad gives you chocolate milk with breakfast? Sure, I think I have some…"

"No. Cereal make cocoa milk?"

"Cereal make…Oh. The cereal turns the milk chocolate. That I can do. Sorry. I don't really know how to speak kid."

"Daddy too."

Biting my lip I told myself I wouldn't pry, but I couldn't help myself. I needed to know how everything was going with the two of them. Even if it meant asking some questions to a sleepy three year old.

I wasn't sure if that made me a bad person, but I had to know. No one could really blame me for wanting to know, could they? It was just something that I had to know. Hopefully Barney didn't get mad at me for it.

"What's it like living with your Daddy?" I questioned getting the cereal down.

"Fun," Zoë nodded, "He's good Daddy."

"I'd bet. What's your favorite part?"

"Story time!"

"Your Daddy reads to you a lot?"

"Yeah. And…And…And he does voices! He sounds scary when the Big Bad Wolf, but he said…He said he'd no get me with him around. He'd protect me."

I couldn't help but smile at that Barney had pushed past being a good Father in my eyes with that. He had surpassed every thought I had in my mind and that was amazingly awesome to see.

"It sounds like you really like your Daddy," I smiled putting the bowl in front of her.

"Yup, Daddy good," Zoë agreed, "Miss Mama."

"I'm sorry, Zoë. It must be hard"

"Have Daddy. He's not leaving, right?"

"No, I doubt he'd leave you. He loves you."

"Love him too."

"I know. Hey, after you eat what do you say we play with some of this things Daddy brought with you? I'm sure we can come up with something fun."


	10. Chapter 10

Another Daddy!Barney story because I just love them so much! It's really going to focus around him and his daughters relationship, but I haven't really figured everything out.

Alright this is the last chapter for this story. I have no more idea's left for this story, but if you follow the story I will at some point in time post continuations of this story. Thanks for reviewing/reading. Enjoy!

I own nothing. Please review!

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"Daddy?" a soft questioning voice drifted through my dream, "Daddy? Are you sleeping? Daddy? He's sleeping, Aunt Robin."

I felt the bed sink slightly as someone climbed into it that was odd. Most people were trying to climb out of my bed in the morning. Wait, Daddy? Aunt Robin? How was it I still thought having a daughter was a dream?

It had been seven months since I first brought Zoe home and I just couldn't believe that the three year old was my daughter. Not that I had a kid, well not just that, but how amazing she was.

And she was amazing. So sweet and kind to everyone she met. She was a friendly person and after just one time going to the park she had claimed to have three new friends.

Though there was one person that she was best friends with. A little girl that had been her friend for almost a year. She and Jade were the best of friends and both little girls had a sleep over every other week now.

That had been a nightmare for me in the beginning. It was hard enough to have one child to look after, but to have two? And adding the fact Jade's parents weren't all that thrilled having the daughter at a strangers house? It wasn't a good time.

Even after all these months I knew that they had trouble dropping her off at my apartment, but they'd never keep the girls away from each other. The girls loved each other too much.

It was a little odd to think about still, but I remembered when Zoe first introduced Jade to me. She didn't say her best friend or her friend. She introduced Jade as her big sister since Jade was a year older than her.

I knew that if friends were close enough they'd consider each other family, just like I considered Ted my brother, but I hadn't thought that something like that started this young.

There were so many things that Zoe had taught me and I loved her for that. I had thought that I was a pretty open person, but you never knew what you were missing until you had a child.

Yeah, not all people were right to be parents, I thought I was one of them for so many years. I never thought I'd think this, but I was completely and totally wrong about a lot of things.

"Why don't you jump on him to wake him up?" Robin's voice spoke up sounding on the smug side.

"No mad?" Zoe questioned hesitantly.

"No mad."

My mind was still half sleep at this point so I didn't understand what was going on until I felt the bed suddenly move. That was when Robin's words hit me. She was telling Zoe to jump on my bed.

I continued to act like I was asleep for a few more jumps before I surged up, wrapped my arms around her waist and flung both of us down onto my bed. Giggles filled my bedroom when I did this.

It was sweet, amazing really, to hear the sound of my daughters laughter. Have that be the only thing that I was really focused on. That sound was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard

When Zoe was finally settled in my lap I found myself looking into the bright blue eyes and wondering what I had ever done to deserve something as amazing as having a child.

Of course I knew that's not really how it worked. A lot of people who didn't deserve to have children had them and some people that did deserve to have them didn't. I hadn't given much thought to it before.

I wasn't going to have kids so what was the point in thinking about it? But now id did have a child and I was thinking how nothing in my life made it seem like I deserved to have something this wonderful.

Now I had her though and there was nothing in this world that was going to take her away from me. I would never let that happen. I doubted that I could ever live with myself if it did.

With my friends I knew that no matter how much I loved them and how much I wanted them to always be in my life I could survive if something happened. I'd always love them, but it wouldn't be the end for me.

Looking at the little girl in my arms right now I wasn't sure that I could do that. In only a few months she was my world. I loved her with all of my heart. Just thinking about her being hurt was too much.

"Hello," I smiled my voice deeper with sleep.

"Hi," Zoe grinned happily with a slight wave of her hand, "Aunt Robin, do you have it?"

That was another thing I was trying to get used to. My friends had become my daughters aunts and uncles rather quickly. Something all of them were more than happy about.

All four of them had brought Zoe into our little family like it was nothing at all. Babysitting, buying little presents, making dinners, and everything like that was all taken care of. It was like she had been with us all our lives.

I couldn't even begin to explain how happy that made me. I loved knowing that Zoe had a big family. Yeah, they weren't related by blood, but since when did that really matter?

"Yeah, I got it," Robin nodded picking up something from the floor and moving to the bed.

I watched as Robin walked to my bed and placed a tray down. Toast, bacon, jam, coffee, eggs, and more were piled on the plate. It looked like there was enough food for all three of us to eat.

"What's going on?" I questioned sitting up properly.

"It's Daddy's Day," Zoe said practically beaming.

"This is the first part of you Father's Day present," Robin filled in with a nod.

Looking down at the plate I patted the left side of my bed and waited until Robin was sitting next to me before picking up my fork. I never thought I'd think this, but sitting here was actually really…nice.

"I love it," I nodded looking between them, "Thank you."

"I love you, Daddy," Zoe replied while attempting to cuddle into my chest without spilling the food.

"I love you too, Sweetheart. I love you too."


End file.
